I had an awesome weekend. It started at 5:30am yesterday when I got up and was leaving the house at 6am to drive a couple of hundred miles to visit my friends CL Raven and support them at their signing at their local WH Smiths. In my opinion this is really big, indies getting into a chain like Smiths is awesome.

CL Raven and their display in WH Smith Cardiff. Cat is on the right and Lynx is on the left. Photo credit: CL Raven

They had a good turn out and sold a decent amount of books ( I finally got my hard copies of Bleeding Empire and Empty Graves).

I spent most of the weekend in Cardiff and hung out with Cat and Lynx. It was somewhat of a flying visit as I had a few bits and pieces to do at home and an early start with work tomorrow morning. I’m looking forward to going back in the future as it seems like an awesome city.

Myself with CL Raven. Photo Credit CL Raven.

Needless to say I’ve not written this weekend. I have very much so taking a break from writing. Obviously I thought about it and hanging out with Cat and Lynx means we talked writing but I haven’t really thought about it much. Its been quite some time since I had a break from doing anything writing wise. If I’m not writing I’m editing. Even if it’s only a few words its been rare that I’ve gone more than a day without writing a single word. I think the break will have done me a bit of good.

Good evening all! Just a quick little post as there’s not much to update. I’ve have a couple of days off, and will have a couple more. I’m off to Cardiff tomorrow for my friends CL Raven’s signing at a local WH Smiths. Here’s the link to their post with all the details.

I’m really looking forward to seeing Cat and Lynx (CL Raven). They’re good friends and it’ll be good to hang out with them when not at a con.

To get there at a decent time, I need to leave before the suns up. So I’m off to bed! have an awesome weekend everyone!

Yesterday I had a thousand word day. The first in quite some time. I don’t think I’m going to get many of those this month as I’m going to be editing my zombie trifecta novella next week and then after that I’ll be getting properly stuck into the Vampire Era.

Speaking of the Vampire Era, I’ve started the rewrites/editing for that. 1200 words in so far and hoping I’m doing a good job. I think the changes I’m going to make are really going to make it come alive, and I think I’ve grown enough as a writer to give it what I’ve felt it’s lacked in the past.

CS1 has hit a bit of a roadblock. I’m stuck on how I’m ending it, I’ve got an idea but I’m having trouble executing it. So I’m letting it sit for a few days and see if that helps.

I will drop everything when I get Beta notes back on PE3.

This weekend I’m taking a break though. I’m off to Cardiff to support my friends at their signing at WH Smith’s. If you’re in the area pop along and see them between 11am and 1pm. If you search CL Raven on Twitter or CL Raven Fan club on Facebook the details are there. You can also click the links on the side of this blog to my social media as the details are there as well. I’ll try and pop a link in my next post as well.

Here is my Top Ten Books Of 2018. These aren’t books that were released in 2018, they’re the ones that I read. Some of them I have reviewed and will link in those reviews with the respective books.

Going off my Goodreads challenge I read forty-nine books in 2018. I had a few moments during the year where I was finding it hard to read so hopefully this year I’ll hit and pass the fifty books I’ve set in my challenge for 2019.

Lets get stuck in to the list:

Number Ten: Off Season By Jack Ketchum

I brought this one on audio after Jack Ketchum sadly passed away. I’d heard about him and an interview with him on The Horror Show With Brian Keene podcast. It was a choice between Off Season and The Girl Next Door. I kinda tossed a coin and went with Off Season which I’m really happy with, although The Girl Next Door will be checked out this year. Off Season is a fantastic tale that isn’t scared to give gut punches and as a reader you take it because Ketchum writes the story beautifully and you just keep turning the pages, or listening in my case.

Number Nine: The Malignant Dead by CL Raven

The Malignant Dead brought tears to my eyes but it also made me laugh. That’s something CL Raven do, they flip that coin really well and The Malignant Dead does that very well. They also transport you into the city of Edinburgh beautifully, you feel you are there and can easily picture these characters in these locations. It is a heartbreaking story but thats because CL Raven bring these characters to life so thoroughly.

This was one I went into without no real knowledge of it. I’d seen people speaking nothing but good things about it and I saw that Pippa Bailey was the narrator of the audio book. I’d met Pippa at the launch of the Sparks anthology that we both have stories in and I wanted to support her as well. The story itself is two that are woven together very well and gives a great outcome at the end of the book, but it still left me wanting more. The characters keep you guessing and there were a few moments where I wasn’t sure what one characters reality was.

Number Seven: White by Tim Lebbon

White was a fun and fast story to read. Tim Lebbon gives a very tight and well told story of an apocalypse that has left people stranded and how these people deal with their plight. The bleakness of this one struck me. If something is bleak it doesn’t tend to get my attention but Tim Lebbon puts in just enough hope to keep that bleakness at bay.

Number Six: The Log House by Baylea Hart

I first heard of The Log House while at Bristol Horror Con in 2017. Baylea Hart was on a panel and gave a brief description of her book and it sounded good. I wasn’t disappointed. This is a post-apocalyptic story which has a protagonist who I didn’t like as a person, but I was quickly hooked on the journey she was taking and the world she was part of and what happened in the characters past. Baylea Hart builds a world that is very seductive and easy to fall into.

The author who I read the most in 2018 wasBrian Keene: City of the Dead, The Complex, Ghoul and Dark Hollow.

Number Five: Billy and the Cloneasaurus by Stephen Kozeniewski

Where do I start with Billy and the Cloneasaurus? In my review I said it was 1984 meets The Lego Movie, and I still stand by that. It’s got this optimism to it that masks the real problems. This book had me hooked from the first sentence. It’s got a great energy to it, and has left a lasting impression on me. Even if the ending was a kick in the gut!

Number Four: Dark Hollow by Brian Keene

There are so many reasons why Dark Hollow spoke to me. From how the story is structured and paced to the multiple conflicts of the protagonist. Brian Keene really does build this character beautifully and its also very raw in many places. I’d recommend reading this one and then listening to an episode of The Horror Show with Brian Keene were he talks about this story. The big bad of this story is something I’d not come across before and found it fascinating. This is another story where the ending was a blow to the gut. So far it’s my favourite Brian Keene story.

Number Three: What Good Girls Do by Jonathan Butcher

Okay, where do I start with What Good Girls Do? Like Forest Underground I went into this one blind. Part of it was I saw it was getting a lot of praise, another part is again I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the narrator, Tara Court, and wanted to show some support to her. Another part was it’s a The Sinister Horror Company book, like Forest Underground and I was impressed with that one. So I went in blind. This is the most brutal book, movie, tv show, that I’ve even consumed. It doesn’t hold back and deals with a topic that most people blatantly ignore. Those who do know about it don’t want to talk about it. Jonathan Butcher doesn’t baulk with this story, and in lesser hands I think it would have been a disaster. But Butcher handles such a delicate topic with a skill that I think few have. This is a fantastic book, but not one I’d say I enjoyed but. It is one I’m pleased I listened to because it is so beautifully written and deals with something I think we as a society need to be more aware of.

Number Two: The Human Santapede by Adam Millard

A big change of pace from What Good Girls Do, we have The Human Santapede by Adam Millard. This is a book I find myself reluctant to talk too much about because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. All I’ll say is Santa has a problem and sends an elf off to figure out the mystery. Adam Millard goes full speed with this one. It’s like he wanted to write the most out there Christmas book ever and had fun while doing it. I think I laughed at something on every page! This was definitely the funniest book I read in 2018, probably ever. If you want a giggle, buy this book!

Number One: The Silence By Tim Lebbon

Here we are, number one in my top ten of 2018. I brought The Silence on audiobook when I learnt there was going to be a movie of it and I wanted to check the book out first. This book rattled me. There was three distinct moments where I had to hit pause and stop listening to it for that day. I think part of the reason it struck me so hard was because it is set in the UK and peoples reaction to the threat in the story felt very real. It is strikingly well written with very real characters whose pain you feel as they make their journey. It’s written with a skill that I admire. Lebbon tears the lives of these characters apart with such a deft hand that it’s still brutal but the build up to the hardness of the story is as smooth as silk and this brings you into these moments without missing a beat. Its become an instant favourite of mine, I even brought a paperback which I’ve gotten signed.

There it is, my top ten books of 2018. 2018 was the first year I really started reading horror and it was quite a year. Lets see how 2019 compares.

Just to wrap up the post I wanted to give a few honourable mentions. If this had been the best fifteen books of 2018 these would have made the list.

The story of the grave robbers of that time isn’t something I know much about. I knew it happened but getting into the why and how was really interesting and CL Raven put in characters who have their conflicts they’re dealing with.

The Grayfriers Gang was fun and the banter between them is fantastic. I would happily read another book with them in it!

CL Raven do a lot of research for their books, and with these historical ones (The Malignant Dead, The Devils Servants, and this one) they really manage to put that research to good use and you feel like you’re in Edinburgh, whether in a graveyard or an inn you feel part of the city. Edinburgh is now definitely on my to visit list.

Empty Graves is a page turner. The characters are fun and have depth to them that leaves you wanting to know more, and I learned a little about our past that I hadn’t known before.

I did a little more than those 171 words though. I transferred almost 3000 words from the PE3 drafting file to the main Scrivener file and read through some of the surrounding scenes to see what I need to focus on with the next few scenes I’ll be writing.

This evening was a bit of an easy one if I’m honest. I did hit somewhat of a wall last night and needed to take a bit of a breather tonight.

Speaking of exhaustion, I’m calling it a night. I’m going to read a little of Empty Graves by CL Raven and get to bed.

It was a busy day though. I got up and cleaned the henhouse out and then felt pretty rough for a few hours, I don’t know why I just felt pretty rough. Once I’d started feeling better I did some bits around the house. Then I’ve slowly written those words and watched The Cornetto Trilogy and did a few little bits and pieces that needed doing.

I think its been a bit of a low impact day because I’m tired if I’m honest. I was in bed by ten thirty last night, and I probably will be tonight as well. Just tonight will be with a book I’ve been excited about since I first heard about it.

Empty Graves by CL Raven is the third book in their Edinburgh trilogy that’s not a trilogy (They all take place in Edinburgh a long time ago; The Malignant Dead in 1645 during the Plague, and The Devils Servants in 1649 during the witch trials in the city). There’s a couple of characters that cross over in the first two books but I don’t know if any do in this one as I haven’t started it yet. All I know is it’s about grave robbers and as soon as I heard that I was sold. This is probably my most anticipated book of the year.